HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 24-1822INFORMAL RESPONSE TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 24-1822
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
April 2, 2024
Page 1 of 1
SUBJECT: MEET AND CONFER NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE FORT WORTH
POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
This Informal Report provides information regarding the ongoing negotiations between the City
and the Fort Worth Police Officers Association ("POA") to negotiate the terms of a fifth Meet
and Confer Agreement ("MCA").
The current MCA is in effect through September 30, 2024, with a one-year evergreen period,
meaning that the MCA is no longer in effect after September 30, 2025. The MCA provides for
no wage increases or other changes to be implemented during the evergreen period.
In August 2023, the POA President, Lloyd Cook, contacted the City Manager's Office,
requesting that the City and the POA begin negotiations for a fifth Meet and Confer Agreement,
thereby initiating the Meet and Confer process under Texas Local Government Code Chapter
143.
The City's bargaining team met on several occasions in the last few months to develop and
prioritize a list of topics and matters that the City and the police department believe should be
addressed in the next iteration of the MCA. That list will continue to be revised throughout the
course of the ongoing negotiations.
The City's bargaining team, led by Assistant City Manager William Johnson, had an initial
meeting with the POA's bargaining team on November 30, 2023 to discuss the overall structure
and schedule of the upcoming negotiations and exchange some ideas on what each team
believed were the most important topics to be addressed in any resulting agreement.
Since November, the City and the POA met publicly on three occasions to consider and
negotiate each side's proposed changes to the current MCA and to exchange information
needed to evaluate the proposals from both sides. The next bargaining session is scheduled
for March 28, 2024. All bargaining sessions are open to the public.
The City's bargaining team is committed to working constructively with the POA to reach a new
Meet and Confer Agreement that serves the best interests of both the City and its police
officers. The new MCA must be approved by a majority vote of the POA members and the City
Council in order to take effect.
For questions concerning these issues, please contact Assistant City Manager William
Johnson at 817-392-5806.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS